6-5-09 Never forget! It was a week ago today that SFTLVaultFire2K9 lit up the internet and local broadcast with the news (fireball! 8600 folks without power!) that an underground fire was sullying the once-unimpeachable Tenderloin.
So, a week in, where are we? PG&E now tells us that “crews have been working around the clock for a week” (we asked what kind of OT PG&E pays and they say they’ll get back to us, but our breath: not held) but to fix the equipment damaged in last Friday’s fire, and that they’ve “made significant progress.”
According to a PG&E spokesperson they’ve blasted water underground and vacuumed it back up to clean the soot, then started replacing the cable and three switches damaged in the fire. In addition, three transformers located about 25 feet away from the smoke-spewing manhole need to be replaced, and may or may not have been responsible for the blaze. Right now, they still don’t know.
Initially, four blocks were closed for repairs, but that’s been dropped to a closure of two. All ‘loin-crossing Muni routes are back to normal but the outbound 19. PG&E says they hope to have concrete information on he reason behind the explosion, as well as an idea when those last two blocks will reopen, after crews work through the weekend.
